a few household questions answered

I received a great message last week from a lovely reader Katie that I knew would make a great post.

Do I do laundry every day?

Pretty much! I have a 9.5kgs top loader and a huge hills hoist and I keep them both busy almost every day of the week. I might skip a day if we’ve had lots of things on or the weather is bad and it looks like it will be a nicer day the next. I don’t mind washing and hanging it out on the line. I do mind the folding, sorting and putting it away. So whenever I have a helper in the house they usually help out with the folding and sorting and if I’m lucky it makes it into wardrobes.

I have a thing for fresh pjs each night for everyone which someone in the house thinks is silly but heh I’m the same with towels too. It probably makes more work for myself but I like fresh towels.

How do I organise the housework?

I don’t have set days for cleaning because I pretty much always find something to do every day.

Floors get swept every day sometimes twice a day depending on the room. I spend a lot of time in the kitchen so do a lot of cleaning and wiping in there, dishes etc. Dishwasher goes on when I’ve finished cleaning the kitchen at the end of the day and I unpack it with my first coffee of the day and then load it up during the day. Most days I run it twice a day.

Vacuuming once a week in the play room downstairs and then upstairs and the stairs are usually every 2 weeks.

Floors downstairs get washed each weekend and I have to do it before everyone wakes up or when they are in one room as we have a few slip n sliders.

I also keep some cleaning products in each bathroom to make it easier to keep on top of them during the week. I’m also a fan of those easy wipe kind of products that are quick and easy and make everything look clean again.

We did have a wonderful cleaner at our last house but haven’t got someone here yet so it’s me running solo. I haven’t minded too much since it’s pretty much my exercise at the moment.

If you have a newborn then my number one lifesaving tip if you can manage it is to have someone come in every 2 weeks to clean the house for you. It is one less thing to worry about and everyone loves a clean house. One of my girls loves the smell of domestos on the floors after they’ve been cleaned:)

Unfortunately none of my little ones really love keeping their rooms tidy so I keep on top of the littlest two and have the 3 bigger kids make their own beds and do their own rooms with a few ‘interventions’ by me when they are getting really messy. They each have their own quirks. One loves to wear a few outfits a day and leave them all under her bed when she’s done. Another one dresses well and just one outfit a day but pulls out every shelf of their wardrobe in the process and one just likes to pile things on the floor around her bed. I hope it gets easier keeping their rooms organised as they get older. Maybe not.

Meal planning?

I’m a pretty casual meal planner in that I might use the back of an envelope and write out the week’s dinners so that I can base the shopping list from it. All of our dinners are gluten free and I make it dairy free for my little miss. We usually have a vegie or tuna pasta dish once or twice a week (san remo gluten free pasta is the best in my opinion), a rice dish, once or twice a week we do a meat dish which could be mince, sausages or chicken (at the moment the kids are loving roast potatoes, carrots and chicken pieces), we also have an egg dish like frittata or slice one night. Not much takeaway since we’ve moved and everything is far away.

We grocery shop on the weekend with at least two top ups during the week because I’ve forgotten something, had a craving for something and because we always need fresh bread, milk, fruit and crackers. I need a lifetime supply of crackers and fruit in this house as it always disappears with lots of little snackers living here.

I’m not a super organised or efficient person but I do just try to keep on top of everything every day. My house is never spotless or totally uncluttered but you should see me clean if I know someone is coming over to visit!!!!! And I know I’m not the only one who does that…………………

And I also like to set myself little goals like a magazine or some craft when the cleaning is done so I get through it………..otherwise I might just want to craft all day. This is my quilt progress and I’m itching to finish it but will try to do a little bit each day………………

Corrie, you say you’re not super organised or efficient, but I think you underestimate your achievements Personally I think you deserve a cape that says Supermummy Hoping you find someone lovely to help with cleaning soon……♥

Well at least when the kids are older Corrie they can help out with little chores. My daughter is wonderful at cleaning her room, normally after you cant see the floor for things on it, then all of a sudden she just does it so that is great. I dont know how you manage with so many little people to feed. I have 2 to feed who are teenagers and Miss 12 likes to just eat everything so by mid week it is looking pretty empty in the fridge and cupboard. You must be getting excited for the new arrival soon too.

Excellent post Corrie! My little routine is groceries and bathroom clean on Monday, vacuum and mop Tuesday (I sweep numerous times through the day too), Wednesday is dusting and Thursday or Friday a top up grocery shop for bananas, or stuff I’ve run out of. This generally goes out the window in holidays! I like fresh towels every day too and thankfully I can do a load or two a day and get everything dry here in QLD Keep rested though for the coming weeks ahead and I hope you find someone to help around the house when the baby is born! x

oh see I love hearing about how other people do it because I’m sure people have their days to do things and I just don’t!!!! I’m loving the warm winter we are having as things are drying which is nice………

I have enjoyed seeing your Red Letter Day quilt come along. I was so envious that you got to meet Camille and attend her class, she is one of my favourite designers and I just can’t get enough of her patterns and fabric. I can see from your posts how much you enjoyed it and am glad you had some time to do something for yourself. Your quilt looks mostly to be Bonnie and Camille fabrics but the gorgeous fabric I spy down in the lower right hand corner I think is not one of theirs – do you happen to remember what it’s called or who designed it? It’s very pretty. I am waiting on my Red Letter Day pattern to arrive and have bought a heap of April Showers fabric, so can’t wait to make my own.

oh she would have to be the sweetest lady ever! I still smile when I think about the class and how wonderful it was.
The blue/green fabric was a bit of a last minute grab when I badly cut one fat quarter. It’s from denyse schmidt and let me check the range, I think it was one of the spotlight ones………

Hi Corrie, I have 7 children, although two have left home now (our eldest recently married). I always do at least two loads of washing a day, I just don’t want to get behind, especially in winter! I write out a menu plan for the week (we have three coeliacs and one nut-and-egg-free) and do a grocery shop on Monday, although I do have to drop in at least once towards the end of the week for something.

I got the kids to work out their own daily dishes roster so that everyone (usually) is happy with it, and apart from general tidy up we mostly do the bigger jobs like floors on the weekend, the youngest picks up toys, one of the boys does the vacuuming and either I or one of the others mops the floors, while one of the older ones cleans the kids bathroom.

Anyway, that’s a little bit of what works for us. Now that mine are getting older in some ways it easier, although when they start going out and doing their own thing you have other things that are not in your control to worry about!

love hearing how big families organise it all! I have to say my twins starting kindy really got them helping around the house and they can sweep floors together…and we’ve worked on getting them to do a good job the first time:)

I really enjoyed this post. I love taking about how we all manage our households. You get great tips from other people. I have a colleague with 5 children and I was busting to ask her how often she washed and how often she changed the beds and whether the linens were colour coded per kid… The best thing I’ve done is put together a cleaning caddy like the Organised Housewife, I love it! Everything in one easy to carry caddy.

Wow! That’s a lot of washing!
I really enjoy reading about how other mums get things done in the home! Thanks so much for sharing!
I would really love to comment about using domestos on the floors! Domestos is a bleach and while yes it kills everything (super important with lots of little ones!) bleach is not good for little lungs!
I use eucalyptus oil with some green floor cleaner so that I get the lovely smell and eucalyptus oil also kills all the germies.
xx

I can highly recommend doing grocery shopping online – a busy person like you should try it! It saves the time & hassle of going to the supermarket – especially if you usually have kids in tow, and even more so if you usually battle the crowds at weekends. No parking, waiting in queues, dealing with kid meltdowns & demands for toys, lollies etc. You can ‘shop’ at any time of the day or night, sitting in front of your computer. A delivery man will bring it to you at your chosen day & time and will even bring it all the way in to your kitchen bench! I promise I don’t work for any of these companies! I am just recently converted myself and I think someone like you would love it!

Corrie I’m sorry to disappoint you but don’t hold your breath hoping the kids will keep their rooms tidier when they are older. Teenagers are notorious for having messy rooms. My four are now in their 20’s and 30’s and I’m still waiting for them to have tidy bedrooms but fortunately I don’t have to look at them now! I think you’re amazing to do all that you do; particularly changing the towels and pjs every day.

I was washing every day but now on acreage and on tank water so every little bit counts, its important out here to be conscious of the supply. Just wondering if you are on tank water and or septic ? or envirocycle and what you use to comply with those issues. I know I had to stop using anything antibacterial as its bad for our envirocycle system and now its back to basics mostly. I too turn a blind eye to the quirks of the girls and their bedroom tidiness, one is going to be a great interior designer and the other a great at making mess disappear!